Train detecting and reporting apparatus



W. P. PLACE TRAIN DETECTING AND REPORTING APPARATUS No v. 16, 1943.

Filed June 5, 1941 INN/ENTOR M/z'lla P Place BY HIS ATTORN EY Patented Nov. 16, 1943 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAIN DETECTING AND REPORTING APPARATUS Willard P. Place, Wilkinsburg, Pa., assignor to I The Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 5, 1941, Serial No. 396,732 Claims. (01. 246-122) at the various block stations are required to ob-' serve all passing trains and note that they are complete and in order, and that the marker signals required by the rules are properly displayed.

Should a train without markers pass a block station, the signalman at such station is required to notify the signalmen at the next block station in each direction, and must not report that a train is clear of the block or unlock the next block in the rear unless he has ascertained by observing the train markers that the train is complete.

At an unattended block station where signals are manually controlled from a central ofiice 'by means of a communication or remote control system, suitable train detecting apparatus, usually of the type involving a detector track circuit, may be employed as a tripping means to set the associated signals at stop and also to 7 cause an indication to be transmitted over the communication system to theoflice to indicate the presence of a train, as is well known. When a train passes the train detecting aparatus, for example, the remote control system may be conditioned to OS the train, that is, to transmit an indication reporting its movement past theblock station to the control oflice. circuit, nor other known train detecting apparatus, such as a light beam, photo-cell combination, however, is effective to detect whether or not the train is intact, hence such an OS indication might be transmitted to the office when only a portion of a train passes the detector apparatus. OS indication received from a block station location and assuming that'the complete train has passed that point, might therefore signal-other traffic through the block whereas in fact a portion of the first train may be in the block and thus constitute a hazard to the othertraffic.

In view of the above-mentioned and other 1111- Neither a track An operator relying upon the portant considerations, it is an object of my invention to provide novel and improved means for detecting and reporting the passage of an entire and complete train.

Another object is, to provide novel and improved means adapted for use with remote control or centralized traffic control systems applied to non-track-circuited stretches of track, for de-- tecting the passage of complete and intact trains.

An additional object is to-provide novel and improved apparatus in the wayside cooperating with means on a train for detecting energy applied by the train to the track rails.

A further object is to provide novel and improved means on a train for applying energy to the rails of a stretch.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved axle driven generator on a vehicle for generatingimpulses of electrical energy having a strength or magnitude independent of 'the 1 speed of the vehicle. a

The above-mentioned and other important objects and characteristic features of my invention which will become readily apparent from the following description, are attained in accordance with my invention by applying electrical energy from a train to the rails. of a stretch, and by utilizing means in the wayside, for detecting and reporting, to a remote oiiice the presence of such energy.

The inventionv further provides a novel and improved form of axle driven generator capable of generating impulses of energy having a substantially constant magnitude regardless of train speed, and novel and improved wayside means for detecting at 'a selected point in the trackway the presence of energy applied by the train to the rails.

I shall describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and shall then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view illustrating one form of apparatus embodying my invention. 1

Referring to the drawing, the reference characters I and la designate the track rails of a stretch of track such as a-manual block, which usually .is not provided with continuous trackv The rails l and la, are divided by 'in-,

circuits. sulated joints 2 into a track section ab, which may be of any convenient length preferably longer than the distance between the trucks of any vehicle operating thereover, and may for example havea length of the order of feet;

wayside apparatus for detecting the presence of energy applied from a vehicle to the rails of the section. This apparatus includes a'loop circuit formed by connecting a conductor 1 between a center tap of battery 3 and a mid terminal tap of I,

resistor 4. The loop circuit thus formed includes the track rails I and la in multiple, and also includes a primary winding 8 of a transformer 9 interposed in conductor 1. In addition, the wayside apparatus includes relay means comprising a relay CR and an electronic tube of the controlled ionization type such as, for example, a grid controlled gaseous discharge tube I of the hot cathode type. The heater element 1 2 of tube H is provided with an obvious energizing circuit supplied when back contact 14 of relay TR is closed, with unidirectional energy from a suitable source, such as a batterynot shown but having its opposite terminals designated by the reference characters B and 0. Relay GR is interposed in the plate circuit of the tube, which circuit extends from terminal Bthrough back contact 15 of relay TR, the winding of relay CR, plate 16, intervening tube space and cathode. I! to terminal C. The potential established across the plate and cathode oftube IILWhen back contact 15 of relay 'I'R is closed, is selected to be below the breakdown potential of the gas medium, hence tube 1 remains non-conducting until such time as winding lfl'of transformer 9 connected across the cathode and grid l8 of the tube, establishes a potential sufficient to permit the ionization of the gaseous medium. When this happens, the tube becomes conducting and remains so regardless of the 'gridpotential, until the plate-circuit is interrupted. 1

'Relay CR has associated therewith and controls suitable means for transmitting information from the trackway location to a remote ofiice, which may, for example, be a dispatchers ofiice. Thisinformation. may, for example, be transmitted over a communication or centralized traffic control system of the type shown in the Lewis Patent No. 2,297,130, granted on April 16, 1940, for Remote control apparatus, or as represented, over a line circuit extending from section a'-b to an indicator at the remote ofilce.

The wayside apparatus is in itsnormal condition, as represented in the drawing, when section (1-?) is unoccupied. In this normal condition of the apparatus, relay TR is picked up and both the heater and plate circuits of tube H are open at back contacts 14 and E5 of relay TR, respectively. Relay CR is deenergized and holds open its front contact 19 to open the previously mentioned circuit over which indicator 2!! is controlled.

The wayside apparatus is arranged to pick up relay CR and cause indicator 26 at the remote station to become active, only when energy is applied bya train or vehicle to the track rails. A vehicle Visrepresented in the drawing as being provided with means for applying energy to the rails of the section, and as shown such means comprises a source of. energy having its opposite terminals connected one to each truck of the veform magnitude hicle through wires 35 and 355, respectively. The trucks are insulated from each other, hence the source applies energy to the track rails through the medium of the trucks, axles and wheels, and causes current to flow through the rails between the two sets of trucks.

The source of energy on the vehicle may comprise a battery or a generator, but I prefer to use a novel form of axle driven generator capable of generating impulses having a substantially uniindependent of the vehicle "speed. Thisgenerator comprises a cam 22, either secured to one of the axles of the vehicle, or

. driven by the axle through a mechanical connec- .tion indicated by a dotted line in the drawing; a

mechanical linkage comprising arm 23, link 24, springs and 26; and an armature 21 of an impulse generator comprising a permanent magnet 28, confronting bifurcated or U-shaped pole pieces 29, and coils 39. Arm 23 is pivotally secured at 3| preferably to the frame of the vehicle, and actuates armature 21 through the medium of link 24,.pinned at one end to arm 23 and at the other end to armature 21. Spring 26, operating in a sleeve 33, is interposed in the ,me-. chanical link member 24, while spring 25 biases arm 23. Armature 2'! is pivoted at 32 about its center for movement from a position shown where it engages diagonally opposite legs of the pole pieces 29, to another position indicated in dotted lines in the drawing and in which the other pair of diagonally opposite legs of pole pieces 29 are energized. The armature is held by magnetic attraction in its last operated position by the flux due to magnet 28 threading pole pieces 29 and armature 21, and the armature functions to provide a path of low reluctance between the pole pieces.

' When cam 22 rotates to the position shown and actuates arm 23 against its spring bias, armature. 21 occupies the position represented and flux threads the armature and coils 30 in one direction. Continued rotation of cam 22 permitsarm 23 to be actuated by spring 25 to its biased position, and arm 24 then compresses spring 26 until it exerts enough force on armature 21 to flip or cause the armature to operate abruptly, against the magnetic attraction of magnet 28, to its other (dotted) position wherein the direction of flux in the armatureand coils is reversed, thus inducing in the coils 30 an electromotive force which-is applied to the track rails through the wheels of the vehicle. Further operation of cam 22 back to its illustrated position causes the extension of spring 26 until it exerts sufficient force on armature 21 to again flip or operate abruptly the armature, against the magnetic efiect of magnet 28, to its illustrated position, thereupon again reversing the direction of flux in the armature and coils and inducing in the coils an electromotive force which also is applied to the track rails.

Each change in position of the ,armaturere verses the direction of magnetic flux through the armature 21 and coils 30, thus causing each successive two induced voltage impulses impressed on the track rails through wires 35 and 36 and the trucks, to have opposite polarities. The frequency of these impulses is of course dependent upon the speed of the vehicle, but the strength or magnitude of the impulses is not affected by the vehicle speed since the time required for operation templated that a vehicle, such as V, equipped with r thus enabling operation of the wayside apparatus hereinbefore described by such train-carried apparatus to be utilized to providemeans for OSing complete and intact trains at a remote office. For example, the vehicle V may be a caboose placed, as is the custom, at the rear of a freight train. When the train proceeds along the stretch and enters section ab, relay TR is shunted, heating element l2 of tube H is energized, and a potential is established across the plate and cathode of the tube. The tube, however, remains non-conducting until the caboose enters th section and the source carried thereon impresses on the track rails of section wb a voltage which appears between the two insulated trucks of the caboose. This voltage is also impressed across the loop circuit including conductor 1 and winding 8 of transformer 9. The complete loop circuit may be traced from the one or right-hand truck (as viewed in the drawing) of the caboose through the rails l and la in multiple, the connections of relay TR with the track rails, resistor 4 to its mid-point connection, conductor 1, winding 8 of transformer 9, the center tap of battery 3, the two portions of battery 3 and resistors 5 and 6 respectively, and the two track rails I and la in multiple to the other or left-hand truck of the caboose. This loop circuit path is, of course, connected in multiple with the path which extends through the track rails between the two trucks of the caboose, and a portion of the Voltage impressed across these two paths in multiple appears across winding 8 and induces in winding I!) a voltage which causes tube l I to become ionized and conducting; The voltage will of course be induced in winding II] as long as both trucks of the caboose are within section a-bto cause a voltage to be impressed on th rails of that section, but since tube It becomes ionized when the voltage is first induced in winding Hi, the con-' tinued induction of a voltage in winding ID has little if any eifect upon the operation of the apparatus. The ionization of tube ll results, however, in the energization of relay CR which accordingly picks up to close its front contact I9, and indicator 20 at the remote office becomes energized to indicate that ener y is present in section aF-b due to a vehicle, equipped with energy applying means, occupying the section. The operator at the oifice is, therefore, assured that when indicator 20 becomes illuminated, the train passing the remote location is complete and intact. Should a train part and break in two, and only the forward portion pass through'section ab, the tube l I would not become conducting and hence no OS would be sent to the remote office. In such an event, the operator would consider the block occupied and this would, of course, be the case since the second portion of the train has not cleared the block. It follows, therefore, that my invention provides means for OSing complete and intact trains in territories where continuous track circuits are not employed, and that it involves apparatus arranged so as to assure the operator that when an OS indication is received, the entire train has passed the location and there is no danger of a portion of such train impeding the movement of other traffic through the block.

After a train which includes a vehicle V equipped to supply energy to the track rails, passes section w-b, the track relay TR picks up to open both the plate and filament circuit of tube H, whereupon both relay CR. and indicator 20 at the oflice station become deenergized, and the apparatus is restored to it normal condition as represented in the drawing.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of train detecting and reporting apparatusembodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. Means for detecting and reporting the passage of the rear of a train, comprising in combination, a stretch of railway track having an insulated section provided with a track circuit in-- cluding a track relay, a loop circuit for said section including the rails thereof in multiple, a train to travel said stretch, means on the rear vehicle of said train for impressing energy on the rails of said section, an electronic relay in the wayside having a plate circuit controlled by said track relay and having a grid circuit responsive to energy impressed by said train on said loop circuit, and means controlled by said relay for reporting the presence of energy in said loop circuit to a remote office or station.

. 2. In combination with a stretch of railway track having an insulated section provided with a track circuit including a track relay, a loop circuit for said section including the rails thereof in multiple, an electronic relay of the controlled ionization type having its grid circuit coupled to said loop circuit and having a plate circuit controlled by said track relay, a train to travel said stretch, means carried on said train for impressing energy on the rails of said stretch, and means in the wayside of said stretch controlled by the plate circuit circuit including a track relay, a loop circuit for said section including the rails thereof in multiple, an electronic tube of the controlled ionization type, a plate circuit for said tube controlled by said track relay, means coupling the grid of said tube to said loop circuit for causing current to flow in the plate circuit of said tube in response to energy in said loop circuit, a train to travel said stretch, means carried on the rear of said train for applying electrical energy to the rails of said stretch, and means at a remote point controlled by energy passed by said tube when conducting for indicating the presence of energy in said loop circuit.

4. In combination, a stretch of railway track having an insulated section provided with a normally closed circuit track circuit including a track relay, a loop circuit for said section including the rails thereof in multiple, an electron tube of the controlled ionization type having a plate circuit controlled by said track relay and a grid circuit receiving energy from said loop circuit, a train-to travel said track, means on said train for applying electrical energy to the rails of said stretch, and means at a remote point responsive to energy passed by said tube when said relay is released and energy is applied by said train on said loop circuit.

5. A system for OSing trains at an unattended location, comprising in combination, a stretch of railway track having at a selected location an insulated section provided with a normally closed track circuit'including a track relay, a loop circuit for said section including the rails thereof in multiple, an electron tube of the controlled ionization type having a plate circuit controlled by said track relay and a grid circuit receiving energy from said loop circuit, a train to travel said track, means on the rear vehicle of said train for applying energy to the rails of saidstretch, and means responsive to energy caused to flow through said tube for reporting at a point remote from said location the passage of a train having said energy applying means.

WILLARD P. PLACE. 

